But in all seriousness I don't think it will have much long term effects (crossing my fingers) but I have bad allergies and have had to take allergy medicine before I go to the gym or I will be hacking the stuff up all night.

My name is Tim and im chalkaholic, It started out innocently a friend said hey this will help you climb harder. Well i was a casual user i didnt want the crags a mess of chalk on every hold. Then one hot summer day i went to sit down with my chalk bag open and poof this large cloud of chalk surrounded my head. I loved the smell taste and feeling of chalk in my lungs it was such a sweet feeling. 6 months later i found i was using chalk everyday whether i was climbing or not i would bury my head in my chalk bag and just inhale. Then it just would do the trick i had to buy a chalk pot that way i could inhale as much chalk as i could. I would spend endless nights inhaling chalk and even brought a small bag with me so when i was on break i could sneak into the back stall and inhale the sweet nectar know as chalk. I got fired needless to say because even though its not illegal it was interfering with with my job i sold my house my car even tried to sell my wife for the feeling of chalk in my lungs. I realized i need help now im here in this thread to admit that i do have a chalk problem. Now i just smoke ciggarettes and pounds of coffee but every once in a while i do get the urge for that feeling.

I have bad allergies and have had to take allergy medicine before I go to the gym or I will be hacking the stuff up all night.

An evening at the gym with bad allergies turned into a funny story. I had taken my allergy meds but for some reason couldn't stop scratching my face, nose, etc. I walk into the bathroom and see my face beat red with rashes (from everywhere I had scratched w. chalk on my hands); I'm allergic to the chalk or something in it. :lol:

I also have bad allergies. Is there anything you do other than dose up on meds religiously before outdoor climbs? I have used Claritin for years, but was curious about the tablets you can take without water. I figure these might be a life saver if I get somewhere to climb and my allergies are just awful, pop one and I'm on my way (I get migranes that sneak up on me like that, ugh). I imagine they don't taste so hot but if they get the job done.

Chalk is not going to damage your lungs like asbestos or smoking. The particles of chalk are far to large to be taken deeply into the branches of the airway and get stuck. The chalk dust will just be captured by mucous and cilia to be eventually cleared (if your respiratory system works properly).

However...viruses, bacteria, and other allergens can be carried on the inhaled chalk.

As a climber and a pulmonologist I have looked into the issue of chalk dust and lung disease fiarly extensively.

Chalk dust (calcium carbonate) is considered to be a relatively inert when compared to very bioactive dusts such as asbestose and silica. It has been used in controlled experiments to assess the effect of inert dusts on the sinuses. This is appropriate since the particles are typically of larger size, very few of which make it past the naso/oropharynx. Chalk dust significantly impairs the ability of the nasal passages to clear secretions and results in increased congestion and discomfort. With regards to the effect of chalk on the lungs, there have been a few case reports (particularly in Japan) that have linked a few school teachers with interstitial lung disease to chalk exposure. They did this by measuring the amount of chalk in the teachers lungs on autopsy and comparing them to others with interstitial lung disease without chalk exposure. It's not surprising that there have been very few cases reported of chalk causing ILD (interstitial lung disease) due to its inertness. This makes it very similar to coal dust, where relatively large and constant exposures are needed to result in lung disease. This is very different from dusts like silica and asbestose where single large exposures have caused acute respiratory failure and death. Of course it's bad to make too many assumptions concerning the cimilarity of coal to chalk, however it's probably safe to say that ILD from chalk exposure would likely occur only after very prolonged and heavy exposure.

The issue with asthma is somewhat different. Upper/large airway exposure even to completely inert dusts has been shown to trigger asthma and COPD exacerbations. Every time SLC gets a big ugly inversion, I get multiple calls from many patients with exacerbations of their obstructive lung disease. This type of reaction can lead to chronic airway inflammation with potentially dire consequences if left unchecked, however the progression will not be asymptomatic.

With regards to wood dusts, the particles are relatively large and almost never get past the upper airways. Studies have shown an increase in the frequency of nasal/sinus adenocarcinomas, however the increased rate of laryngeal, tracheal and lung cancers is very small and orders of magnitude less than the risk due to smoking. It's odd how so many of the people I've diagnosed with lung cancer refuse to believe the effect of smoking cigarettes for 30 years is the cause rather than [insert conspiracy theory here].

Hi, I'm a climber. I risk my life for this sport a few times a week and I'm fine with that. But, I want to know will chalk hurt me? WTF man!!!! Sorry I don't care how new you are to the sport, don't be such a freaking AHHH never mind.

I have bad allergies and have had to take allergy medicine before I go to the gym or I will be hacking the stuff up all night.

An evening at the gym with bad allergies turned into a funny story. I had taken my allergy meds but for some reason couldn't stop scratching my face, nose, etc. I walk into the bathroom and see my face beat red with rashes (from everywhere I had scratched w. chalk on my hands); I'm allergic to the chalk or something in it. :lol:

I also have bad allergies. Is there anything you do other than dose up on meds religiously before outdoor climbs? I have used Claritin for years, but was curious about the tablets you can take without water. I figure these might be a life saver if I get somewhere to climb and my allergies are just awful, pop one and I'm on my way (I get migranes that sneak up on me like that, ugh). I imagine they don't taste so hot but if they get the job done.

I'm sorry you've got bad allergies too :?

Claritin seems to work pretty well for me. That and a lot of liquids. I also try my best to stay out of small bouldering caves at the gym with lots of people and chalk floating around for long periods of time. I get up and move around as much as possible and get as much fresh air in between climbs as possible. I'm a boulderer but I've noticed rope climbing is much easier on my allergies.

Claritin seems to work pretty well for me. That and a lot of liquids. I also try my best to stay out of small bouldering caves at the gym with lots of people and chalk floating around for long periods of time. I get up and move around as much as possible and get as much fresh air in between climbs as possible. I'm a boulderer but I've noticed rope climbing is much easier on my allergies.

Thanks for the tips! I really enjoy going to the gym by myself and just attacking bouldering problems. I'm no good but I have a hell of a time watching all the awesome climbers do their thing, it's beautiful.

:lol: wow! this thread has everything. my initial thought was "Jgill HAS to get in on this" and scroll, scroll...there he is! then the funny ensues...white lung? chalk habits? more, please!

the only thing that pisses me off about chalk is when people leave huge bird crap looking piles at the base of climbs. it might effect their breathing/lungs when I wrap a firm grip around the throat and...who am I kidding? i'm a lover.

Oh come on, I constantly use dangerous chemicals, and naturally read the MSDS for everything. that part about inhalation is included in EVERY single one of them. even the water MSDS, ALso, the other MSDS fragments in the thread are overstatements, if every chemical was as dangerous as the MSDS indicates, life on Earth would never have happened this way.